It does it's job. But I think there is a way to axe that 'was'. The chart topping bad day started when the kid barfed n the backseat of my taxicab. (that only depends on the next couple lines though.) And of course, my humbles opinion. :) I try to axe I knew, I feel, because they tend to add up.

No. Though honestly, if I could give a scale rather than a simple yes/no, I'd give it about a 6. The "chart-topping" seems to be a positive image that doesn't really mesh with the rest. If you were going for sarcasm, it doesn't quite read like that to me. I'd go more sarcastic or cut the positive imagery altogether.

Yes. It made me laugh. I'd like to know what else went on to make it such a bad day. However, chart topping as a descriptor brings in a younger voice to me, like a teenager, but I associate taxi drivers with an older set.

Yes. Great voice, funny setup. As for "chart-topping" (should be hyphenated), I'm OK with it if the MC is a music-phile or something and makes other references like that throughout. But if it's just a one-off and music has nothing to do with the story, I might suggest cutting it or rewording.

Oh yeah! Loved the sarcasm, which shows our taxi driver probably has a sense of humor (driving a taxi can't be an easy job, so a sense of humor is a must), although I agree that "chart-topping" should be hyphenated.

Yes. Gives a good sense of the book with character, voice, setting, etc. I love the word barf. p.s. "chart-topping" is going to divide readers based on taste, but I doubt they'd put the book down because of it.

I was going to say no because "I knew it was going to be a bad day when" is as cliche as it gets, but there was just enough voice there to lead me on.

I also smell barfy cab, now. Thanks.

I'm on the fence about chart-topping. It didn't turn me off in the first read through. It sounded very saracstic and was a part of the narrator voice. If too many readers object, then maybe think about "record-setting" or some other equivalent.

The one thing I worry about is that the kid puking is just the start of a bunch of minor inconveniences we have to wade through to get to the real trouble. If dealing with the barf, though, leads us to the actual problem, then I'll read straight through.

No. But only just slightly no. "Chart-topping" lends itself to the narrator's possible voice, which is nice, but "barfed" conjures up images of little children on a playground trying to make fun of and out-gross one another. Perhaps a different word choice?